Portable concrete batching plant



- July 23, 1957 Filed Sept 10, 1954 H. w. RUBY PORTABLE CONCRETE BATCHING PLVANT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 WW QIII Fig. 5

Jul 23, 1957' I PORTABLEbONCRET-E BATCHING PLANT Filed Sept. 10, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Harold W. Ruby I N V EN TOR.

. H. RUBY 2,800,312 I y 3, 1957 H. w. RUBY I 2,800,312

PORTABLE CONCRETE BATCHING PLANT Filed Sept. 10, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 x? v O &

v Harald "(Ruby INVENTQR.

United States Patent PORTABLE CONCRETE BATCHING PLANT Harold W. Ruby, Sacramento, Calif.

Application September 10, 1954, Serial No. 455,305

1 Claim. (Cl. 259-154) This invention relates to a portable concrete batching plant which has for its primary object the provision of means for loading the proper amount of each type of aggregate or other materials into a mixing truck in a convenient and rapid manner.

By utilizing the concrete batching plant comprising the present invention, concrete aggregates and the like can be stock piled at any suitable site and then the machine may be moved to this site so that operation may then commence so that mixer trucks need be moved a minimum distance and a minimum number of mixer trucks are thus required so as to substantially reduce the cost of maintaining a large schedule of concrete placing. a

The construction of this invention features a portable concrete batching plant which includes electric motors instead of gasoline engines as prime movers for synchronization and reliability of operation while still having the required capacity to provide eflicient operation for the concrete batching plant. The utilization of such components permits reels to be readily attached to bearing mounts provided on the frame of the portable concrete batching plant to thus render the invention fully portable.

Another advantage of the invention resides in the fact that water or other fluid delivery means is associated with the portable concrete batching plant and means for metering the flow of fluid is also provided.

Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of a portable concrete batching plant that is simple in construction, highly efiicient in operation, and relatively inexpensive to construct thereby permitting wide utilization in the construction field.

These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following descrip ion proceeds, are attained by this portable batching concrete plant, a preferred embodiment of which has been shown in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the portable concrete batching plant comprising the present invention in operative use;

Figure 2 is a rear end elevational view of the portable concrete batching plant;

Figure 3 is a front end view of the invention illustrating the construction of the bucket conveyor and the chute provided therefor;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of the concrete batching plant illustrating the internal construction of the hopper, screw conveyor, and bucket conveyor; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged side elevational view of the upper portions of the invention looking from the opposite side of the portable concrete batching plant from the view shown in Figure 1.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, reference numeral generally designates the portable concrete batching plant comprising the present invention. This portable concrete Patented July 23, 1957 batching plant 10 includes a hopper 12 into which a conventional end loader 14 is designed to deposit aggregates. The portable concrete batching plant is adapted to deliver the aggregates to a conventional mixing truck 16 after these aggregates have been weighed so that a correct amount of each of the aggregates can be delivered to the truck 16.

The hopper 12 is mounted on a frame 18 and a scale 20 is provided for indicating the quantity of aggregate such as indicated at 22 that is placed within the hopper 12. A screw conveyor 24 is mounted at the base of the hopper 12 and is designed to deliver the aggregate 22 through an openend 26 and into a receiving chute 28 of a bucket conveyor 30 also carried by the frame 18.

A suitable electric motor 31 is provided for driving through a sprocket 32 and pulley 34 the screw conveyor 24. Likewise, by means of an electric motor 36, the bucket conveyor 30 is operated, the electric motor 36 operating an endless chain 38 entrained about a pulley for operating a sprocket 40 mounted on a shaft 42 rotated by means of the endless chain 38 so that the bucket conveyor including the endless chain of buckets 44 will be operated. Switches as at 45 and 47 are provided for controlling the motors 31 and 36.

The bucket conveyor 30 is encased within a suitable housing 46 which terminates in a chute 48 which is arranged above and extends outwardly beyond the frame 18. The chute is therefore designed to deposit the aggregate into the chute 50 of the mixing truck 16.

Carried by the frame 18 and coextensive with the chute 48 is a water delivery pipe 52 controlled by means of a valve 54, see Figure 5, and a water meter 56 for measuring the flow of fluid through the pipe 52. Hence, after the measured aggregate has been delivered into the mixing truck 16 or simultaneously therewith fluid such as water may be delivered into the truck 16 so that the mix will be of known consistency.

Mounted on the frame 18 are a pair of bearing supports 58 onto which wheels are adapted to be positioned so that the portable concrete batching plant 10 can be towed from one location to another using the drawbar 60. It is to be noted that tensioning means 62 may be provided for the endless bucket conveyor 30 as may be desired.

In use, the end loader 14 picks up aggregates and cement from a stock pile and dumps them into the hopper 12. The required amount of each type of material is controlled by the operator of the end loader 14 who watches the scales 20. When batch quantities of aggregate cement have been deposited into the hopper 12, an operator standing on a platform 64 supported by the frame 18 closes the switches 45 and 47 which operate the screw conveyor 24 and the bucket conveyor 30. The screw conveyor transports the materials to the bucket conveyor 30 which then elevates the materials so that they may be dumped through the chute 48 into the receiving chute 50 of the truck 16.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A portable concrete batching plant comprising a support frame, means on said frame for removably journalling wheels thereon, a downwardly opening hopper carried by said frame, Weighing means operatively associated with said hopper for weighing materials disposed therein, a

transversely horizontally extending screw conveyor hav- 7 ing one end portion extending beneath said hopper, an upwardly extending endless conveyor mounted on said frame in angular upward relationship to said frame for raising and discharging material deposited in said hopper and conveyed to said endless conveyor by said screw conveyor, said endless conveyor including a plurality of transversely disposed buckets carried by an endless belt, said endless conveyor being enclosed in a housing including an upwardly opening lower chute portion and a downwardly opening discharge chute portion, said screw conveyor having its other end including a downwardly opening portion overlying said upwardly opening lower chute portion of said housing for said endless conveyor, power driven means carried by said frame for operating said screw conveyor and said endless conveyor, fluid delivery means carried on said housing and including a 4 downwardly directed discharge portion located at the discharge opening of said housing for acting conjointly with the said discharge opening of said housing, valve means controlling fluid flow through said fluid delivery means, and fiuid metering means determining flow of fluid through said fluid delivery means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,583,892 VerMehr May 11, 1926 1,611,297 Wickey Dec. 21, 1926 2,015,056 Barnes Sept. 24, 1935 2,687,285 Fisher Aug. 24, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 22,696 Netherlands Aug. 16, 1930 

